Common Riding 2018

Summer Fair Night in our garden with Tom Stothart and brothers Niall & Ken Weatherstone 

Kirsteen & Bruce with Mario

The start of sunset on Summer Fair Night 

Three of the Weatherstone grandchildren with their Triangles accompanying Cameron Davidson who has played the big drum in the Flute Band for 41 years.  

Cornet Ian Little heading up the Wynd

The Hutton family paying us their annual visit. 

Leo feeling the heat on Common Riding Day

Hannah with Granny Gaye 

Filling the Bird Feeders on Saturday morning  

Looking for various animals under the metal sheets. We did find a Frog and loads of Ants but no Voles or Mice

A rewarding Ice Cream at Pelosi's for helping fill the Bird Feeders

Feed the Birds on Foot

Since the snow arrived on Tuesday night we were concerned that nobody had been to the Bird  Hide to feed the birds so Bob and Nancy and I set out to walk the 6 mile round trip to top up the feeders. 

There were some huge Snow Drifts to negotiate but no problem to Nancy

We made it to the feeders and gave them some much needed seed and peanuts and headed back via the road. It is only suitable for 4 wheel drive vehicles as this slush is now solid ice.

A very picturesque scene at Border Esk

A Family Visit

Fiona and the kids arrived a week ago to spend mid term in Langholm. What fun we have had with Hannah & Leo as Gaye and I looked after them for a good bit of the time to let Fiona work. 

A visit to Julie Dumbarton's new studio for Spring Fling was one of the highlights of Sunday.

And also a visit to Cut the Mustard new studio with Hannah's friend Solstice who came with them for a couple of days. 

This is the UK section of our team to walk from Langholm to Borculo in the Netherlands in aid of NETA the charity that Fiona is a trustee of in the North East. We raised over £300 and walked 587 miles with the assistance of their Dutch Grandparents Han & Jo. 

Leo enjoyed his walk to the monument

No visit to Langholm is complete without a visit to our friends Jean & Wattie Rutherford at Winterhope. Hannah renews her friendship with Quackers the Calling Duck.

And she handles some Newts for the first time. 

While Leo would rather play on the garden swing

Hannah loves dogs just like her Mum but Leo is very frightened of them. This Border Collie made a great fuss of Hannah.

Feeding the ducks is another regular pastime while Grumpy the Heron that thinks its a duck stands watching what is going on.

On Wednesday Fiona joined the Last of the Summer Wine walkers on an 8 mile walk from Brampton to Lanercost and then along part of the Roman wall trail. 

Leo takes Tom the Dinosaur to the Buccleuch Centre. 

Hannah helps me to top up the Moorland Bird Feeders on Saturday morning before heading back to Newcastle.